Written Answers Monday 18 February 2008

Scottish Executive

Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Act 2008

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Act 2008 receiving Royal Assent on 24 January 2008, on what date tolls will be abolished on the Tay Road Bridge.

Stewart Stevenson: Tolls were abolished on the Tay Road Bridge on Monday 11 February 2008.

Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Act 2008

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Act 2008 receiving Royal Assent on 24 January 2008, on what date tolls will be abolished on the Forth Road Bridge.

Stewart Stevenson: Tolls were abolished on the Forth Road Bridge on Monday 11 February 2008.

Building Standards

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the First Minister on 30 January 2008, when the Building Standards Advisory Committee will cease to operate.

Stewart Stevenson: I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  The Building Standards Advisory Committee will cease to operate as an advisory non-departmental public body as soon as the necessary legislative action can be taken to remove its statutory basis

Building Standards

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what revenue and capital costs were incurred by the Building Standards Advisory Committee in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07.

Stewart Stevenson: I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  Running costs for the Building Standards Advisory Committee (BSAC) in 2005-06 were £6,713.33 and £1,294.98 in 2006-07. BSAC did not incur any other revenue or capital costs.

Building Standards

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which body will be responsible for providing it with advice on the development of building regulations after the abolition of the Building Standards Advisory Committee.

Stewart Stevenson: I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  This will be discussed with the Building Standards Advisory Committee and other key stakeholders to ensure that robust and effective arrangements are in place.

Children and Young People

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority received from the Changing Children’s Services Fund in each year of the 2004 spending review.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is provided in the following table. Allocations were made to local authorities to support activities agreed jointly with local partners in the statutory and voluntary sectors. For 2006-07 and 2007-08, the fund was split between specific grant and grant aided expenditure (GAE). The table provides both elements.

  Changing Children’s Services Fund - Allocations To Local Authorities - 2005-08

  

 Year
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2006-07
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2007-08
 2007-08


 Local Authority
Specific Grant Total (£)
Specific Grant (£)
GAE
(£)
Total
(£)
Specific Grant (£)
GAE
(£)
Total
(£)


 Aberdeen City
 2,038,000
 1,550,000
 482,000
 2,032,000
 936,000
 1,125,000
 2,061,000


 Aberdeenshire
 2,758,000
 2,183,000
 706,000
 2,889,000
 1,318,000
 1,648,000
 2,966,000


 Angus
 1,303,000
 1,033,000
 299,000
 1,332,000
 624,000
 699,000
 1,323,000


 Argyll and Bute
 1,161,000
 942,000
 270,000
 1,212,000
 569,000
 629,000
 1,198,000


 Clackmannanshire
 629,000
 509,000
 140,000
 649,000
 307,000
 327,000
 634,000


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1,986,000
 1,525,000
 438,000
 1,963,000
 921,000
 1,022,000
 1,943,000


 Dundee City
 2,204,000
 1,548,000
 408,000
 1,956,000
 935,000
 953,000
 1,888,000


 East Ayrshire
 1,639,000
 1,263,000
 348,000
 1,611,000
 763,000
 812,000
 1,575,000


 East Dunbartonshire
 886,000
 724,000
 234,000
 958,000
 437,000
 546,000
 983,000


 East Lothian
 1,035,000
 819,000
 251,000
 1,070,000
 495,000
 585,000
 1,080,000


 East Renfrewshire
 789,000
 634,000
 209,000
 843,000
 383,000
 488,000
 871,000


 Edinburgh, City of
 4,727,000
 3,441,000
 1,102,000
 4,543,000
 2,078,000
 2,571,000
 4,649,000


 Eilean Siar
 407,000
 308,000
 94,000
 402,000
 186,000
 220,000
 406,000


 Falkirk
 1,702,000
 1,345,000
 402,000
 1,747,000
 812,000
 938,000
 1,750,000


 Fife
 4,259,000
 3,314,000
 1,018,000
 4,332,000
 2,002,000
 2,376,000
 4,378,000


 Glasgow City
 10,438,000
 7,650,000
 2,268,000
 9,918,000
 4,620,000
 5,293,000
 9,913,000


 Highland
 2,927,000
 2,322,000
 685,000
 3,007,000
 1,402,000
 1,598,000
 3,000,000


 Inverclyde
 1,179,000
 919,000
 244,000
 1,163,000
 555,000
 570,000
 1,125,000


 Midlothian
 981,000
 786,000
 224,000
 1,010,000
 475,000
 522,000
 997,000


 Moray
 977,000
 762,000
 239,000
 1,001,000
 460,000
 558,000
 1,018,000


 North Ayrshire
 1,990,000
 1,555,000
 411,000
 1,966,000
 939,000
 960,000
 1,899,000


 North Lanarkshire
 4,306,000
 3,494,000
 1,038,000
 4,532,000
 2,110,000
 2,423,000
 4,533,000


 Orkney Islands
 279,000
 206,000
 67,000
 273,000
 125,000
 156,000
 281,000


 Perth and Kinross
 1,572,000
 1,265,000
 384,000
 1,649,000
 764,000
 896,000
 1,660,000


 Renfrewshire
 2,236,000
 1,685,000
 472,000
 2,157,000
 1,018,000
 1,100,000
 2,118,000


 Scottish Borders
 1,269,000
 992,000
 312,000
 1,304,000
 599,000
 729,000
 1,328,000


 Shetland Islands
 354,000
 275,000
 91,000
 366,000
 166,000
 212,000
 378,000


 South Ayrshire
 1,229,000
 977,000
 275,000
 1,252,000
 590,000
 642,000
 1,232,000


 South Lanarkshire
 3,680,000
 2,950,000
 881,000
 3,831,000
 1,782,000
 2,056,000
 3,838,000


 Stirling
 1,042,000
 798,000
 245,000
 1,043,000
 482,000
 571,000
 1,053,000


 West Dunbartonshire
 1,481,000
 1,081,000
 276,000
 1,357,000
 653,000
 643,000
 1,296,000


 West Lothian
 2,038,000
 1,645,000
 486,000
 2,131,000
 993,000
 1,133,000
 2,126,000


 Total
 65,500,000
 50,500,000
 15,000,000
 65,500,000
 30,500,000
 35,000,000
 65,500,000

Children and Young People

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding each local authority received under the Children’s Legal Representation Grant Scheme in each year of the 2004 spending review.

Adam Ingram: The Children’s Legal Representation Grant Scheme has operated since 2002. Its purpose is to reimburse local authorities the cost of legal representation of children at children’s hearings. The scheme is budgeted for but is demand-led, i.e. payments are made in response to quarterly claims from local authorities. Claims from local authorities for the financial year 2007-08 are incomplete.

  Payments Made Under the Children’s Legal Representation Grant Scheme

  

Local Authority
2004-05 (£)
2005-06 (£)
2006-07 (£)


Aberdeen
8,278.22
11,845.40
10,701.39


Aberdeenshire
0.00
0.00
0.00


Angus
550.80
879.33
2,204.96


Argyll and Bute
2,526.14
1,169.50
1,847.02


Clackmannanshire
0.00
0.00
0.00


Dumfries and Galloway
880.32
2,489.31
2,977.86


Dundee
4,200.30
9,932.52
9,411.04


East Ayrshire
5,767.95
4,305.24
2,617.39


East Dunbartonshire
2,358.78
2,344.72
3,832.84


East Lothian
1,784.74
4,405.92
3,055.74


East Renfrewshire
1,007.75
384.95
693.60


Edinburgh
22,219.86
27,393.88
12,026.28


Falkirk
8,536.30
10,098.57
7,583.01


Fife
0.00
0.00
2,405.71


Glasgow
16,108.93
26,903.08
22,651.64


Highland
1,862.95
5,573.20
2,679.83


Inverclyde
458.53
1,110.07
1,317.15


Midlothian
4,261.30
9,129.01
4,659.44


Moray
859.00
1,017.59
2,056.35


North Ayrshire
3,312.59
6,154.08
7840.06


North Lanarkshire
733.00
1,725.13
1,639.23


Orkney
0.00
0.00
0.00


Perth and Kinross
0.00
0.00
0.00


Renfrewshire
3,290.76
2,359.21
4,099.94


Scottish Borders
0.00
2,203.43
0.00


Shetland
200.00
0.00
0.00


South Ayrshire
7,318.78
4,348.12
5,127.84


South Lanarkshire
6,123.36
5,516.69
2,922.26


Stirling
2,766.21
860.88
1,907.33


West Dunbartonshire
1,980.58
1,986.56
8,473.53


West Lothian
3,601.08
6,695.32
3,230.24


Western Isles
0.00
1,294.30
0.00


Totals
106,726.93
152,126.01
127,961.68

Concessionary Travel

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to extend the concessionary travel scheme to include rail travel.

Stewart Stevenson: We have no current plans to do so.

Council of Economic Advisers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports have been received by ministers from the Council of Economic Advisers since May 2007; on what subjects, and what action has been taken as a result.

John Swinney: The Council of Economic Advisers have met twice. The council will publish their annual report in due course, although no decisions have been made regarding release date or indeed content.

Fatal Accident Inquiries

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following recent discussions with the UK Government, it is persuaded of the need for fatal accident inquiries for investigating the deaths of Scottish military personnel killed overseas.

Kenny MacAskill: Discussions are still continuing with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defence and the Scotland Office on how the investigations into the deaths of Scottish-based service personnel can be dealt with closer to home and in a way which minimises the distress for bereaved families. There are, however, difficult legal issues which have to be addressed before a solution can be found.

  There is a shared desire with the UK Government to reduce the additional stress for bereaved families caused by them having to travel to England to attend a coroners inquest.

  We are well aware of the sensitivities around this and are determined to find a solution to this important issue as soon as possible.

Health

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to raise awareness in Grampian of the symptoms and causes of strokes.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Stroke Managed Clinical Network (MCN) in NHS Grampian works with public health teams, service users and their carers to provide information on stroke at public events. It also promotes awareness of the risk factors which lead to strokes, and continues to work closely with Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS) to promote the Face, Arm, Speech Test (FAST) campaign, which has been developed to identify very quickly whether someone has had a stroke.

Housing

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to lobby the UK Government to reduce or remove VAT on house repairs and improvements.

Stewart Maxwell: The setting of rates of VAT is a reserved matter, but the government is aware of concerns around these particular VAT rules and will consider bringing them to the attention of the UK Government. The government’s national conversation on Scotland’s constitutional future also provides an opportunity to consider whether decisions on these matters would be better taken in Scotland.

Justice

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle human trafficking.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is undertaking a wide-ranging programme of action to combat human trafficking. The UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking, published by the Home Office and the Scottish Executive in March 2007, outlines the work being undertaken to combat human trafficking in four broad areas: prevention of trafficking; investigation, law enforcement and prosecution; providing protection and assistance to adult victims of trafficking, and child victims of trafficking. Copies of the action plan are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 42595)

  For further information on the detailed actions being taken to combat human trafficking, I refer the member to the answers to questions S3W-2320, S3W-2321, S3W-2322 on 13 August 2007, S3W-6087, S3W-6088 on 14 November 2007, S3W-7040, S3W-7041, S3W-7042, S3W-7043 on 5 December 2007 and S3W-7993 on 23 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Justice

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to local authorities to combat human trafficking.

Kenny MacAskill: The primary responsibility for enforcement action to combat human trafficking lies with the police. However, local authorities also have an important role, especially in relation to the provision of care and support to victims of human trafficking.

  The Scottish Government provides funding to the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA), part of Glasgow Community and Safety Services. TARA provides specialist support to adult female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The Scottish Government has recently provided TARA with additional funding of £70,950 to enable them to enhance support for adult female victims across Scotland.

  In December 2007, the Scottish Government issued a letter to all local authorities regarding provision of support to victims of human trafficking during Operation Pentameter 2. The Scottish Government has set aside provision that can be drawn down by local authorities on a case-by-case basis to cover the cost of providing support to adult victims of human trafficking (other than women supported through the TARA project) who would not otherwise have recourse to public funds.

  The Scottish Government is also in the process of producing guidance for use by local authorities and other agencies on the safeguarding of children who may have been trafficked. Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 to provide support to children in need within their area. This would include victims of trafficking. A model protocol outlining how agencies should respond to cases of child trafficking discovered as part of Pentameter 2 was issued by the Scottish Government at the start of October.

Life Expectancy

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the life expectancy was for (a) men and (b) women in (i) Orkney and (ii) Scotland in the last year for which figures are available.

John Swinney: Life expectancy figures are normally calculated for a three-year period, to provide large enough numbers to ensure accuracy.

  The latest life expectancy estimates are as follows:

  (i) Life expectancy at birth for males living in Orkney between 2004-06 was 76 years and for females it was 81 years.

  (ii) Life expectancy at birth for males living in Scotland between 2004-06 was 74.6 years and for females it was 79.6 years.

  These figures, along with life expectancy information for all council and NHS board areas, are available from the General Register Office for Scotland website through the following link:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/life-expectancy/life-expectancy-for-administrative-areas-2004-2006/index.html.

Local Government

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what requirements local authorities have to enter into partnership agreements.

John Swinney: The requirements on local authorities to enter into partnership agreements are generally set down in statute. In practice, local authorities are involved in a wide range of statutory as well as non-statutory partnerships with, for example, the NHS, other public agencies and third sector bodies. Partnerships established under statutory provisions include Community Planning Partnerships, Regional Transport Partnerships and Community Health Partnerships. Partnership arrangements are also integral to a range of bodies set up under statute such as Adult Protection Committees and Community Justice Authorities. A significant number of partnerships have been established under non-statutory provisions. These include child care partnerships, adult literacy and numeracy partnerships, delayed discharge partnerships, community safety partnerships, local rural partnerships, the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care and safety camera partnerships. The list given above is not exhaustive.

Local Government Spending

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding each local authority received for youth work for local delivery in each year of the 2004 spending review.

Adam Ingram: Funding allocations were not calculated with specific reference to youth work services within Grant Aided Expenditure for these years. Whilst local government had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area, the specific amounts allocated to local government under the more general heading of Community Education, which would include youth work services, were as follows:

  2005-06: £120.633 million

  2006-07: £121.253 million

  2007-08: £122.207 million.

Ministerial Engagements

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements have been held in the Glasgow Anniesland parliamentary constituency since 16 May 2007, broken down by (a) ministerial portfolio, (b) date and (c) location.

John Swinney: The information requested is listed in the following table.

  

Cabinet Secretary/Minister
Date
Location


Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing
29 May 2007
New Beatson Oncology Centre, Gartnavel General Hospital


Minister for Community Safety
26 June 2007
Drumchapel Community Centre, Glasgow


Lord Advocate
10 August 2007
University of Strathclyde, Jordanhill Campus


Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing
11 September 2007
New Beatson Oncology Centre, Gartnavel General Hospital


Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
23 January 2008
University of Strathclyde, Jordanhill Campus


First Minister
1 February 2008
New Beatson Oncology Centre, Gartnavel General Hospital

NHS Hospitals

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people admitted to NHS hospitals died from complications related to strokes in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on deaths from complications related to stroke is not available because it is not possible to establish, from centrally held data, the causal relationship between the original stroke and any subsequent, potential complication.

  The numbers of deaths which occurred in NHS hospitals where stroke was recorded as the underlying cause of death were as follows:

  

Year
Stroke Deaths


2002
2,640


2003
2,441


2004
2,415


2005
2,164


2006
2,157



  Source: ISD analysis of General Register Office Scotland mortality data.

Planning

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used to determine local authority planning applications called in for consideration by the Scottish Government.

Stewart Stevenson: Some planning applications by local authorities are notified to Scottish Ministers under the terms of the Town and Country Planning (Notification of Applications) (Scotland) Direction 2007, which is contained within Scottish Executive Planning Circular 5/2007: Notification of Planning Applications . There are no set criteria for the circumstances in which Scottish ministers will call in planning applications, but some general guidance is published in paragraphs 24-27 of Circular 5/2007 and further advice, more specific to local authority developments, is in paragraphs 40-43 of Planning Advice Note (PAN) 82: Local Authority Interest Developments . Both Circular 5/2007 and PAN 82 are available on the Scottish Government’s website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning.

  Where any planning application has been called in by Scottish ministers, planning legislation requires that it be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Police

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners were held in police cells in 2006-07.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the maximum time was for a prisoner to be held in a police cell in 2006-07.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is per night of holding a prisoner in a police cell.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Police

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any prisoners were held in non-legalised police cells in 2006-07 and, if so, how many and for what length of time each was held.

Kenny MacAskill: The information relating to non-legalised police cells is not held centrally. Section 14 of the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 provides that Scottish ministers may, at the request of a police authority, declare a police cell to be a legal prison for the detention of prisoners, before, during or after trial for any period not exceeding 30 days. These are known as legalised police cells (LPCs). There were 231 receptions on remand to LPCs in 2006-07. Statistical information on the maximum number of prisoners or young offenders held in legalised police cells at any time is not available.

Police

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to bringing Scotland’s eight police forces together under one structure.

Kenny MacAskill: The government currently has no plans to reduce the number of police forces in Scotland. We are, however, committed to delivering change and improvements that make sense for Scotland. We will consider carefully the recommendations contained in the Justice Committee’s report into the effective use of police resources.

Police

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police hours on the beat could be provided between 9am and 5pm on Monday to Friday by a constable with five years’ experience.

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police hours on the beat could be provided between 7pm and midnight on a Saturday by a constable with five years’ experience.

Kenny MacAskill: The day-to-day deployment of police officers is a matter for individual chief constables, but we support their efforts to cut bureaucracy, exploit new technology and free up officer time for redeployment to operational and front line duties.

  The amount of time an officer would be available for deployment within the community within any given period would be dependent on a range of factors such as responding to emergency calls, statutory refreshment periods, court attendance and other competing operational priorities.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported incidents of self-harm by prisoners have taken place in each year since 1999.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicide attempts have been made by prisoners serving sentences in Scottish prisons in each year since 1999, broken down by gender.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides have taken place in Scottish prisons in each year since 1999, broken down by gender.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-14693 on 9 March 2005, and S2W-15577 on 14 April 2005, for the years 1999-2000 to 2003-04. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  The following table sets out self-inflicted and apparent self-inflicted deaths in prison custody for the years 2004-05 to 2006-07, by prison. There were only two female deaths over this period, both occurring at HM Prison and Institution, Cornton Vale. Information relating to statistics of self-harm or attempted suicide is not available for these years.

  

Establishment
Year


2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


Aberdeen
2
0
1


Barlinnie
1
5
4


Cornton Vale
1
1
0


Dumfries
0
0
0


Edinburgh
0
0
1


Glenochil
0
0
0


Greenock
0
0
0


Inverness
1
0
2


Kilmarnock
0
0
0


~Low Moss
0
0
0


Open Estate
1
0
0


Perth
2
2
1


Peterhead
0
1
0


Polmont
0
1
0


Shotts
1
0
1


Total
9
*10
#10



  Notes:

  ~Low Moss closed, spring 2006.

  *1 apparent self-inflicted death subject to Fatal Accident Inquiry Determination.

  #5 apparent self-inflicted deaths subject to Fatal Accident Inquiry Determination.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners required in-patient hospital treatment from (a) an NHS hospital and (b) a prison hospital in each year since 1999, broken down by prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  This information is not available.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners, eligible for parole and serving sentences in Scottish prisons, were refused parole in each year since 1999, broken down by prison.

Kenny MacAskill: The information sought is as follows:

  

Year
Number of Eligible Prisoners Refused 
Parole
Number of Prisoners not Recommended for Release on Life Licence


1999
304
Not available


2000
279
110


2001
301
85


2002
272
89


2003
354
117


2004
380
124


2005
395
136


2006
463
117



  It is not possible to provide the information by prison. The figures also include those who were transferred to England to serve their sentences and those transferred to serve their sentences in psychiatric hospitals.

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8352 by Kenny MacAskill on 21 January 2008, when each of the secondments from the Scottish Prison Service started and how long they are expected to last.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  

Organisation
From
Timescale


Inspectorate of Prisons
2 October 2006
2 years 2 months


Inspectorate of Prisons
1 October 2007
2 years


The Wise Group
4 September 2006
2 years


The Wise Group
1 October 2006
1 year 6 months


International Corrections and Prisons association
3 September 2007
1 year


SACRO
11 September 2006
1 year 6 months


Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency
12 November 2007
1 year

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8352 by Kenny MacAskill on 21 January 2008, whether the secondments from the Scottish Prison Service will be subject to review and, if so, when.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Current information is that the following will be subject to review as indicated:

  HM Inspectorate of Prisons - One (from October 2006) will end in December 2008 and the more recent appointment (from October 2007) will be subject to review six months before the end date (in April 2009) with a possibility of a one year extension.

  International Corrections and Prisons Association – to be reviewed July 2008.

  Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency – to be reviewed September 2008

  The WISE Group secondees will be reviewed in March 2008

  The SACRO secondment is expected to end as planned in March 2009.

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8352 by Kenny MacAskill on 21 January 2008, what length of time the secondees from the Scottish Prison Service have served on secondment.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  

Organisation
From
Length Of Time


Inspectorate of Prisons
2 October 2006
1 year 2 months


Inspectorate of Prisons
1 October 2007
4 months


The Wise Group
4 September 2006
1 year 5 months


The Wise Group
1 October 2006
1 year 4 months


International Corrections and Prisons association
3 September 2007
5 months


SACRO
11 September 2006
1 year 5 months


Scottish Crime and DrugEnforcement Agency
12 November 2007
3 months

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8352 by Kenny MacAskill on 21 January 2008, how many other employees of national and international organisations are seconded to work at the International Corrections and Prisons Association.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  This information is not available from the Scottish Prison Service.

Public Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of increased fuel prices on local authorities providing lifeline bus services.

Stewart Stevenson: We will continue to work in partnership with local government partners to drive forward our transport priorities. For future years, funding for supported bus services will be included within the overall local government finance settlement. It will be the responsibility of each local authority, in conjunction with their Community Planning Partners, to allocate the funding on the basis of their local needs and priorities – taking into account their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities, including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives and manifesto commitments. Further details on these new arrangements can be found in the Scottish Budget Report and related concordat with local government. Copies of both documents are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 44076 and 44077 respectively).

Public Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will support bus service operators facing increased fuel prices.

Stewart Stevenson: The cost of fuel is one of a number of factors which impact on the provision of bus services. The Scottish Government currently provides substantial funds to the bus industry of around £260 million a year. This covers Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), concessionary fares, local authority supported services and Bus Route Development Grant. Following the budget statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 6 February, I can confirm that it is our intention to increase the budget line for BSOG to around £61 million in 2008-09.

Public Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that bus service operators do not have to increase fares or reduce services following the Scottish Government’s decision not to increase the Bus Service Operators Grant.

Stewart Stevenson: Ultimately, the level of fares and the provision of bus services is a matter for individual bus operators who use their own commercial judgement in these matters. The Scottish Government currently provides substantial funds to the bus industry of around £260 million a year. This covers Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), concessionary fares, local authority supported services and Bus Route Development Grant. Following the budget statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 6 February, I can confirm that it is our intention that the budget for BSOG will be around £61 million in 2008-09.

Public Transport

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority received from the Demand Responsive Transport Grant in each year of the 2004 spending review.

Stewart Stevenson: The amounts awarded to local authorities from the Demand Responsive Transport Grant Scheme in each year of the 2004 spending review are set out in the following table.

  

Local Authority
2005-06 (£)
2006-07 (£)
2007-08 (£)
Total (£)


Aberdeen City 
110,000
96,700
99,601
306,301


Aberdeenshire
0
50,000
51,500
101,500


Argyll and Bute
90,304
48,000
49,440
187,744


Dundee City
100,000
100,000
103,000
303,000


City of Edinburgh
145,000
145,000
149,350
439,350


Fife
177,519
177,500
182,825
537,844


Glasgow City
145,000
145,000
149,350
439,350


Highland
56,200
36,300
37,389
129,889


Total
824,023
798,500
822,455
2,444,978

Public Transport

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority received from the Rural Public Passenger Grant in each year of the 2004 spending review.

Stewart Stevenson: The amounts allocated to local authorities under the Rural Public Passenger Transport Grant Scheme in each year of the 2004 spending review are set out in the following table.

  

Local Authority
2005-06 (£000)
2006-07 (£000)
2007-08 (£000)


Aberdeenshire
572
594
726


Angus
216
223
223


Argyll and Bute
489
509
838


Clackmannanshire
59
59
59


Dumfries and Galloway
527
547
547


East Ayrshire
81
83
84


East Dunbartonshire
55
55
55


East Lothian
91
92
92


East Renfrewshire
54
54
54


Eilean Siar
513
533
547


Falkirk
80
82
82


Fife
158
163
163


Highland
1006
1047
1447


Inverclyde
51
51
51


Midlothian
70
71
71


Moray
170
175
175


North Ayrshire
106
109
109


North Lanarkshire
70
71
71


Orkney Islands
275
284
284


Perthshire and Kinross
285
295
322


Renfrewshire
58
58
58


Scottish Borders
276
285
356


Shetland Islands
216
223
350


South Ayrshire
135
139
139


South Lanarkshire
217
224
224


Stirling
139
143
143


West Dunbartonshire
55
55
55


West Lothian
76
76
76


Total
6,100
6,300
7,401

Sex Offenders

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding each local authority received under the National Accommodation Strategy for Sex Offenders in each year of the 2004 spending review.

Stewart Maxwell: The National Accommodation Strategy for Sex Offenders came into force on 2 April 2007 and grant funding was provided to local authorities in 2007-08 as set out as follows. No funding was provided in 2005-06 or 2006-07.

  

Local Authority
Grant


Aberdeen City
£61,715


Aberdeenshire
£63,570


Angus
£49,943


Argyll and Bute
£45,813


Clackmannanshire
£41,589


Dumfries and Galloway
£52,210


Dundee City
£57,620


East Ayrshire
£57,569


East Dunbartonshire
£48,322


East Lothian
£47,881


East Renfrewshire
£44,285


Edinburgh, City of
£117,446


Eilean Siar
£36,962


Falkirk
£58,393


Fife
£87,080


Glasgow City
£159,170


Highland
£70,316


Inverclyde
£44,363


Midlothian
£45,696


Moray
£48,640


North Ayrshire
£51,459


North Lanarkshire
£83,522


Orkney
£32,860


Perth and Kinross
£55,668


Renfrewshire
£62,704


Scottish Borders
£53,876


Shetland
£34,751


South Ayrshire
£47,328


South Lanarkshire
£83,034


Stirling
£46,244


West Dunbartonshire
£49,290


West Lothian
£60,681


Scotland
£1,900,000

Supporting People

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-7893 by Michael Russell on 11 January 2008, what meetings were held between 20 December 2007 and 30 January 2008 with stakeholders affected by the removal of ring fencing from the Supporting People fund.

Stewart Maxwell: The Supporting People Enabling Unit is organising a series of five regional events at which representatives from the Scottish Government and local authorities are discussing with third sector service providers and other stakeholders the rationale for removing the ring-fence and the transition to the new arrangements set out in the concordat with COSLA. Meetings were held in Edinburgh (17 January 2008); Glasgow (24 January 2008), and Dundee (29 January 2008). The issues were also discussed with the Supporting People Forum and with Supporting People Lead Officers on 12 February 2008 and two further regional events will also take place in February.